Rebel Alliance
The Rebel Alliance (also known informally, as the Rebellion), was a loose alliance of planetary-, system-, and sector-level resistance forces formed in direct military opposition to the Galactic Empire. It was originally formed by a group of Loyalists, determined to preserve the ideals of the Galactic Republic. The Corellian Treaty and the Declaration of Rebellion formally organized the alliance. Although it had fewer troops and resources when compared to the Imperial Military, the Alliance possessed a strong will to fight, dedicated soldiers, and brilliant commanders. The Alliance found its first major victory at Toprawa, and would later deal a massive blow to the Empire at the Battle of Yavin. Following the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader during the Battle of Endor, the Alliance became the Alliance of Free Planets, and would finally realize its goal of reviving the Old Republic ny establishing the New Republic. History Early foundations Mon Mothma and Bail Organa, among others, discuss the formation of the Rebel Alliance.It is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when rebellion against Palpatine began, but its earliest known roots existed shortly before the end of the Clone Wars. By this time, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had accumulated a massive power base, and had passed the Sector Governance Decree, installing his own officers and troops on Republic worlds. Senators such as Bail Organa and Mon Mothma saw this as a move towards dictatorship, and not as a way of reinforcing democracy. Meeting with other trusted Senators, Organa and Mothma formed the Delegation of 2000, arguably the first organization to which the future Rebellion can be connected. Members of the Delegation drew up a petition, attempting to force the Chancellor to lay down his emergency powers and pursue a more peaceful resolution to the war. Palpatine rejected this, however, and soon after, transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, installing himself as Emperor with the support of much of the Galactic Senate. Many of those who had signed the Petition of 2,000 were imprisoned, killed, or forced into exile, though Organa and Mothma managed to elude Palpatine's attention—in part thanks to the advice of the late Padmé Amidala, who had pleaded with Bail, during the very session of congress that saw the birth of the Empire, not to attract attention to his secret resistance. Bail had agreed, and, slowly, he and Mon Mothma began to build a de facto resistance to Palpatine's regime. Armed resistance In the following years, as Palpatine's Empire grew in size and power, small resistance cells began to spring up on planets across the galaxy. These small and unorganized groups periodically raided Imperial installations, including sabotage that directly affected the Imperial construction of the Death Star. These groups were a mixed bunch, ranging from loyalists still holding on to the ideals of the Republic to former Separatists. As these early resistance cells became known to one another, former enemies became unexpected allies. Some raids were led by Jedi, determined to make a stand in the Dark Times. One former Jedi and Republic officer, Ferus Olin slowly gathered remaining Jedi and a slowly growing resistance movement that spanned the galaxy. Massacre at Ghorman When Imperial warships under the command of Wilhuff Tarkin landed on top of protesters against high Imperial taxation, killing hundreds, many in the galaxy began to wonder if this new Empire was in fact malevolent. Many career officers whose service records stretched back to the Republic, like Jan Dodonna, resigned or retired from Imperial service. Bail Organa, long opposed to armed resistance began to rethink his own role in the scheme of the brewing rebellion. Yet, with so many countless cells of rebels unorganized and uncoordinated, there seemed to be no chance of mounting a serious resistance to Palpatine’s regime. Cantham House Discussion between Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel Iblis continued at the Cantham House Meetings on Imperial Center. These meetings were informal, designed to gauge the respective leaders' commitment to open rebellion. Mon Mothma of Chandrila was by far the most outspoken critic of the Emperor, having been forced to go underground to avoid capture or death by Imperial agents. It was a last minute call from her friend and colleague Bail Organa that spared this future leader of the galaxy. It would take a coordinated alliance of rebels to fully pose a threat to the Empire. Birth of the Rebellion During the Purge, Darth Vader had secretly raised an apprentice named Galen Marek, codenamed Starkiller. Plotting to overthrow Palpatine, Vader used Starkiller as his personal assassin to kill fugitive Jedi in preparation for the coup against Palpatine. Around the same time, Senator Bail Organa came in contact with Jedi Rahm Kota, using the Kota Militia as a temporary minor rebellion. This rebellion raided several Imperial targets, eventually attacking the TIE Fighter Construction Facility over Nar Shaddaa. Vader used this as Marek's final test, before officially knighting him. In the ensuing battle, Kota confronted Marek in a lightsaber duel, where he was blinded when his own lightsaber was forced into his eyes, then thrown through the overturned glass ceiling into Nar Shaddaa's atmosphere - but not before Kota foretold a future to Marek in which Kota would be of utmost importance to him. Following the assassinations of Shaak Ti and Kazdan Paratus, Palpatine discovered Marek and ordered Vader to kill him. But Vader made it seem like he killed his apprentice, having him recover on his science vessel, the Empirical for six months. When Marek awoke, Vader told him they must distract the Emperor's spies by gathering the Empire's enemies. Feeling that Kota may help him, Marek went to Nar Shaddaa to seek out the blind, Force-severed Jedi. Eventually, Marek caught up with Kota in a bar on Bespin. Kota said that he lost contact with Bail after his mission. On Kashyyyk, Bail's daughter, Princess Leia Organa said that her father went looking for Shaak Ti on Felucia, but had been captured by her fallen Padawan, Maris Brood. Marek saved Organa and let Brood go. Afterwards, Organa said they must show that the Empire is weak and Vader suggested he destroy a Star Destroyer shipyard above Raxus Prime. Corellian Treaty The shipyard's destruction brought together the three main resistance forces: Chandrila, Alderaan, and Corellia and signed the Corellian Treaty. The Treaty was named for Garm Bel Iblis, as the Senator of Corellia, who had organized and personally guaranteed security for the three groups attending the meetings that led to the signing of the Treaty. This was the founding document of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance, and set out the structure and framework of the Alliance. For the first time, scattered resistance groups began to unite and form into a real threat to the Empire. It was during these meetings that the Declaration of Rebellion was ratified. Mon Mothma was selected to be the Chief of State for the new Alliance, though this would cause some considerable friction between her and Garm Bel Iblis. However, Bail Organa was able to keep the peace within the Alliance. Despite the fact that it was still small and woefully outnumbered, the Rebel Alliance was finally a reality. But unfortunately for the Rebels, Darth Vader and Imperial troops arrived at the signing to arrest the Senators. This plot to organize Imperial opposition was actually a plot by Palpatine to gather all resistance spearheads into one location and that Vader had no intention of killing Palpatine yet -- at least, not with Galen. PROXY distracted Darth Vader, with a very bad imitation of Obi-Wan Kenobi using the lightsaber Kota had dropped during the Imperial arrest, long enough for Marek and Juno Eclipse to get away, but the Senators were captured and taken to the under construction, Death Star I to be interrogated, tortured and then publicly executed to crush other dissidents. Marek, in an attempt to free the Rebels, infiltrated the Death Star. There, he liberated the Rebel leaders, defeated Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, and fought Palpatine to a draw. In the end, Marek sacrificed himself to allow the Rebel leaders to escape. To honor their friend, the Rebel leaders agreed to use his family's crest as the symbol for the Alliance. New Allies and Weapons The most notable equipment contributions included the defection of some Incom Corporation staff and all relevant material involved in the development of an advanced starfighter, the T-65 X-wing, which was acquired at the Battle of Fresia. With this advanced fighter, Rebel pilots had a clear advantage over the more numerous yet unshielded TIE fighters. Mon Mothma then secured an alliance with the Mon Calamari, who openly joined the Rebel Alliance and used their renowned skill in ship construction to supply badly needed capital ships that could take on the Imperial Navy. Their considerable fleet of Mon Calamari Star Cruisers gave the newly formed Alliance substantial firepower. Part of the Alliance's strategy was the doctrine of space denial. That is, the Alliance would attack Imperial shipping in hit and run raids; both to disrupt Imperial supplies and operations, and to confiscate desperately needed materials. In these situations, their fighters had hyperdrive capability along prearranged routes which would allow this kind of harassment and escape before the Empire could react. Destruction of Alderaan Because several key Alliance figures were held prisoner on it after the signing of the Corellian Treaty, the Alliance learned of the construction of the Death Star, an enormous terror weapon capable of destroying an entire planet, intended to secure the Empire's power. An operation headed by Princess Leia was successful in retrieving the schematics of the station, but Darth Vader discovered the act and captured Leia. In an effort to get the young princess to divulge the location of the secret Rebel base, Grand Moff Tarkin threatened to destroy her home planet of Alderaan. Yet, even after Leia gave him the location of an abandoned Rebel base, Tarkin ordered the Death Star to fire its primary weapon—a planet-destroying superlaser. Leia watched as billions of her fellow Alderaanians were murdered by the vicious superweapon. The Alliance would use this act as a propaganda tool to recruit more people into its ranks. A New Hope The Force was with the Alliance. Luke Skywalker, a young man from Tatooine, came under the tutelage of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, after stormtroopers destroyed his farm and killed his uncle and aunt. The aged Jedi had been watching Luke for a long time. Knowing his family history and importance to defeating the Emperor, Obi-Wan began training the boy as a Jedi. The duo, along with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, secured passage on a freighter, Millennium Falcon. With the help of smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca, the group managed to free the Princess and deliver the plans to the Alliance. As a result, the Alliance succeeded in attacking and destroying the battle station, and also, in Luke, they gained their only loyal member with training in the use of the Force and the skills of the purged Jedi Knights. Galactic Civil War As a result of the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance gained credibility as a legitimate military opponent to the Empire. Between the effects of the battle and the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, thousands of star systems openly joined the Alliance in the months following the Death Star's destruction. As a result, the Empire began occupying worlds it had allowed to remain untouched earlier, both actions resulting in an escalation of the war. The Alliance could afford to waste no time following its major victory at Yavin. Following numerous raids on their Yavin 4 base, the Alliance relocated temporarily to a base on Thila and New Plympto while setting up a more permanent establishment on the ice planet Hoth. There were some setbacks, namely Garm Bel Iblis leaving the Alliance following a major disagreement with Mon Mothma. This was a blow to the Alliance, though it was offset by the joining of Borsk Fey'lya and his sizable faction of Bothans. Mon Mothma took steps to create a true navy for the Alliance, raising the Mon Calamari Ackbar to the rank of Admiral and appointing him to be Supreme Commander of the Rebel Fleet. Under Ackbar's leadership the fleet grew in size and ability. Along with the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance, Ackbar's fleet was the most important asset of the Rebellion. During this time Luke, Han, Leia, and their companions proved to be the most valuable Alliance members, performing countless crucial missions. The ensuing battles around the galaxy were a number of engagements between either side. Many were Rebel soldiers fighting to sabotage Imperial weapons or destroy Imperial facilities. A large number of people were inspired by the defeats of the Empire to join the Rebellion. However the might and oppressive nature of the Empire inspired others to join the Imperial Military. Command Hierarchy and Administration There were two main organizations that composed the main structure of the Alliance. These were the civil government and the military. Civil Government The Alliance civil government was responsible for handling the numerous jobs of any planetary civil government—including protecting the Alliance peoples, revenue gathering, maintenance of vital services, foreign relations and defense. Many of these functions were left to each member world or government of the Alliance, such as Mon Calamari or the Atrivis sector. The civil government of the Alliance was broken down as follows: The Chief of State The Chief of State was the head of the Alliance. Essentially an elected dictatorship, the Chief of State had virtually unlimited power over the Alliance. Elections were held every two years, though in practice this was only a formality as Mon Mothma had unanimous support amongst the Alliance members. According to the Corellian Treaty, the position of Chief of State "will be abolished when the Emperor is deposed, killed, or resigns his position of power." When this happened, it was the duty of the Advisory Council to assume executive control of the Alliance and convene a Constitutional Convention to form a new Galactic Republic. The Advisory Council The Advisory Council was composed of representatives of seven Alliance governments who had given the most lives in battle to defeating the Empire. This council was the primary advisory body to the Chief of State, responsible for approving or disapproving the proposals of the Chief of State. Furthermore, the Advisory Council had the right to dismiss a Chief of State with a two-thirds majority vote, providing a check to the powers of the Chief. During most of the history of the Alliance, worlds like Alderaan, Dac, and Sullust were members of the Advisory Council, due to their extreme devotion and high losses of life suffered in Alliance service. The Alliance Cabinet The Rebel Alliance Cabinet was the device from which the Chief of State could maintain and run the Alliance. Each member was selected by Mon Mothma for their devotion, intelligence, and ability to get things done. The Cabinet was composed of the following ministries: Minister of Finance—responsible for overseeing Alliance funds. Minister of Education—maintained Alliance Intelligence and oversees propaganda. Minister of State—handled relations with other non-member governments. Minister of Industry—controlled all Alliance factories and production. Minister of Supply—maintained supply chain for Alliance military forces. Minister of War—advised Chief of State on directing Alliance military forces. The Allied Commands The Alliance Allied Commands were the individual governments of worlds, organizations, and groups that were members of the Alliance. Each Allied Command varied slightly depending on how each member world was organized, though in practice Allied Commands mimicked the structure of the Alliance government. Allied Commands ranged from member worlds like Mon Calamari or Alderaan to whole sectors like Atrivis or Churnis. Alliance Military The Alliance Military was charged with defeating the forces of the Galactic Empire and bringing down the Emperor’s reign of power, a task to which all Rebel military personnel pledged themselves. Alliance Intelligence The Alliance Intelligence was an Intelligence Bureau that dealt with a ranging of different scenarios from Counter-Intelligence, Home Security, Operative Intent and Field Operations. Foot Note This Organisation is used within a RESOLUTION Plots and is so part of the RSNverse of Star Wars lore. In the RSNverse, the Organisations history may run a different course to that of canon or the EU. Category:Organisations